September 9, 2011

Off late adi has been practising this theory very ably with his index finger. Theory came into being when adi realized the word "dao" n index finger can do wonders for him. for ex. when he says dao n points to the door with his tini mini index finger it means its time to go for a walk..... be it eve or morning a walk is a must for little baby's health...... also dao n index finger towards wht ur eating means he wants to eat wht ever ur eating n god save u if u refuse to gv him on his health n age grounds coz nw he knws one year babies should eat well...... dao n index finger towards a person means nw tht person should hold him in his arms n thank lord for the opportunity gvn....... dao n index finger towards u also means tht he's upset with u n conveying his displeasure....... so these r just few ways of using dao theory........ i think adi is again saying dao dao.....

August 23, 2011

A wise man who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day he met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise man opened his bag to share his food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the man to give it to him. He did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.

But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise man!

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is. but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."

August 19, 2011

Chandragupta's Chief Minister Chanakya was a very wise and well-read man. Once an envoy came from China to discuss the philosophies of politics with him. The Chinese envoy had a royal lifestyle and was also arrogant. He requested Chanakya for an appointment and was told to go to his house at night.

At the correct time the Chinese man reached the hut of Chanakya. He saw Chanakya sitting and writing something under the light of a very small lamp (diya). He was surprised and wondered why the Chief Minister should use such a small lamp and thought himself as much better off in China.

Chanakya got up, respectfully welcomed him and offered a seat. Before talks could begin, Chanakya put the diya off and lighted another one. After the discussions were over, Chanakya put off the new diya and lighted the old one back again!

As the envoy was going out he could not contain himself from asking Chanakya why he did all this. Chanakya said "When you reached my house I was doing my personal work for which I use my diya. When I started talking to you, I put it off and used the government diya which I have put off as soon as our discussions are over. I am sometimes the 'Chief Minister' and sometimes an 'ordinary citizen' and I know the difference between the two."

August 18, 2011

The Anna Hazare led anti-corruption movement is a desperate call for a need to change the way things work around in our country. While we can keep supporting this and other movements, the underlying fact is that we live in a democracy and a long-term sustainable change can only be effected if we vote more consciously when the elections come by.

I had read the following article some time back. Want to re-post it here. Do read.

August 4, 2011

I was disappointed with the way we lost the two tests against England. I happened to talk about it in a lecture and was invited to comment on a student's comment on FB. So posted this.

Firstly, these couple of defeats per se would have been okay, but the way we lost, I felt, was spineless. There was no fight whatsoever. They did not just win, they out-played us completely. Sure every team can lose a couple of games in a row, but the 'how' is equally important.

Secondly, what is our future looking like? Sure we are statistically at No. 1, but how strong is our side! Be it pace bowling, spin or batting, the bench strength looks very raw. Who is going to replace the likes of Sachin, Dravid and Laxman? If we do not find the answers soon, we will go the Aussie way. Difference being, they cleanly dominated other teams for more than a decade and we would struggle to do it for a couple of years. Even today, India does not look dominating or powerful enough to claim the tag of world-beaters. What has been equally important is that other teams have not been very impressive except England and SAF.

Thirdly, I am tempted to look at the statistics of test matches during the last three years. India has played 33, won 15, lost 6. Out of 15 wins, 6 have been overseas. 2 in Bangladesh, 1 each in NZ, SAF, SL and WI. Out of these NZ, Bang, WI clearly not the benchmarks for us. So it is 2 'real' away test wins. 2 away wins out of 15 wins.

The SAF test win at Durban was a horrible pitch. In a way, spinner friendly Indian track. Dhoni mentioned about it in the post-match conference that the pitch was not of international standards. It was an uneven bounce/spin track and Harbhajan made a killing. The win against SL in Colombo was a Sehwag feast. His better than run-a-ball century won it for us.

Sehwag has been a key for us in the last couple of years. Sans him, we saw what can happen to our batting line up. His blazing start was vital for middle order batsmen to come in and capitalize. I am not sure how a world-beater side is so heavily dependant on 1 batsman. Perhaps pretty much like Hayden for Aussies, but look at the way other batsmen played for them when they were No. 1. There were matches that Gilchrist, Langer or Ponting won for them.

Coming to qualitative factors, Indians on the field looked spineless and lethargic even in Windies. We did not go for the win in the last test against WI!! That is not the sign of a champion. Windies are surely not the most formidable. We gave it up there.

Sure, statistically we are No. 1, and we could even retain it by winning/drawing the next two tests. But I am not going by the ranking. Even a WC victory was not convincing for me (personally) that we are the best. I want to see fear in the opponents when they face our bowlers and their bowlers should be left with shivers when we bat. Only Sehwag has managed that. I want to see our team kill others and win some games so one-sided that opponents must be in awe. Windies did it in 70s and 80s, Auusies in 90s and the last decade. We are not yet there. Sure we may some day, but not yet.

August 1, 2011

why aditya thinks bathroom is the coolest place in our house ? our bathroom has a sliding door. hence adi finds it fascinating tht a door shud slide n beyond it lies a disney land tht he craves for. n the only obstacle betn his wonderland n him is his eccentric mum who thinks its 'dangerous' for him to venture alone in bathroom. evry thing in bathroom fascinates him ie his bath tub, bucket, water tumblers, n last but not the least the toilet seat..... he tries to mount the seat the way u wud mount a horse but alas he cant n their again he blames me for tht...... he' s not sure y he's nt allowed to sit on tht seat since he's 11 months..... tht blue bucket shivers in fear every time adi walks into the bathroom coz it knws nw adi wl simply start hitting it with tumblers till it turns black..... bucket is wondering wht crime has it committed to deserve this beating every single day. then there's adi's bath tub. adi is supoosed to sit inside the tub n bathe but he does exactly the opposite. he sits outside n then pours water on the tub...... yes this is exactly hw he likes to bath n no i cnt question the logic coz then he gives me a look which says i dnt knw hw u cleared ur high school, mum? so i keep mum..... poor me :( adi likes to compare his stuff with his dad n nt me since i own one body shampoo n dad has body shampoo, body cream, body deo, body spray, hand lotion, hair gel, perfume n etc n adi has only body shampoo, body oil, body cream, baby powder, bum cream, hair oil, baby comb, baby clips. he cnt believe he's living like this whereas v r njoing the riches..... he's mkg notes hw to complain to shekhar appa bot me n nt his dad since dad is a sweet heart n m an alleged cleaner who claims to be his mum all the time. coming back to bathroom, evry time he's not allowed to play in bathroom adi pees on bathroom door mat n runs away...... i need to go adi is pushing the bathroom door....... god help the bucket..

aditya alias jerry. when adi was four months young kartik (my youngest brother in law) would call him jerry the mouse. wht i didnt knw is tht adi was listening n has tkn message to heart. so nw he crawls faster resembling a mouse run if he sees tht v r running to catch him. his crawling is fastest if he has messed up bathroom rug or pulled dwn bed sheets, turned dwn his plastic table or distributed dirty nappies to all corners of kitchen. tomatoes, prunes, apples hv his beautiful mouse teeth carvings. n god help u if u disturb him when he 'having' his fruit 'by himself'. yesterday he graduated from langots to small colorful pants bot by his paa. he used these new pants to swipe floor when we were not looking. at nite adi takes a thin sheet to cover him n i tk three blankets to avoid death by cold. n i knw i m inviting trouble if i turn off or slow down a/c, coz he wakes up immediately n gives me a look tht wud wither a startched collar. he loves bum dancing hence on every foot tapping number he raises his left hand n moves his bums front n back.......

July 31, 2011

adi is upset with me because: 1. i insist on he wearing clothes. he dsnt like to wear any clothes at all unless ur tkg him out.....he believes kids shud nt be dressed up until they can spell out which clothes they want to wear. 2. i dnt let him bathe himself. adi says he's old enough to play in his bathtub n dsnt like soap. so y cnt v leave him in wateer all day. 3. i comb his unruly hair. thxs to adi we need 5 bottles of oil a month, i mean he has wild mane but no i cnt comb it, tie a pony coz he dsnt approve of tht..... inspired by kangana ranaut look i guess.... or is it farhan akhtar in rock on !........ 4. adi is nt sure y i try to mk him sleep by 11 pm coz he likes to party till 2 am...... by then me n sree r half dead.... but adi is a noctural creature 5. tht v gv him only porridge n soft diet where as we binge on all delicacies likes pani puri blah blah lah..... hence me n maa eat in bathroom if he's awake..... 6. he's nt sure y i dnt allow him to turn gas knobs since nw he's tall enuf to turn them on his own...... net net adi is curious like a cat.. 7. yesterday he was upset coz he tried lifting the whole of watermelon n cudnt n held me responsible for conspiring agst him..... 8. he likes to run out the moment door is opened n i hold him back n then he howls....... y cnt he step out n run towards the staircase.

July 30, 2011

A very dear friend of mine (Kaminni), who is also a mother of a naughty little boy - Aditya (whom I have not seen yet), started sending me short emails on Adi's life! I loved what she wrote and more importantly, how she wrote. I could almost see Adi in front of my eyes doing all that she has described. So I took permission from her to re-post these short emails here. I am reproducing the text exactly the way she sent me. I have added few details in italics to add details that may not come out otherwise! God bless Adi, his mom and dad! :)

last nite adi wnted an apple. noooo he desnt hv any proper teeth to bite n eat apple just tht he likes "to eat apple on his own". so at abot 8.30 pm he stated "nibbling". at 8.45pm i noticed apple had shrunk thxs to adi's nibbling. at 9 pm adi noticed a blue stan c rubber ball (adi's dad works for Standard Chartered Bank - stan c refers to the bank) n thot it was a blue apple. so he started nibbling the ball. nw at 9.30 pm he got frustrated cos he cudnt nibble the ball. so he came back to his old apple. at 10 pm he got attratced to the bathroom door n kept banging it since i didnt let him in n play in water n yes he started howling....... finally at10.30 pm i made peace n gave him two bathroom tumblers yes...... after washing them properly else sree wl throw me out....... by 10.45 pm i had eaten two unwanted apples thrown by adi.....hw cud i waste... v r paying in $s (they are based out of Singapore now)........ vfm....... at 11 pm adi threw all his stuff, clothes, toys, blankets on the floor..... he likes to do a stock-taking twice a day from the fear that his mum mite be stealing his stuff...... hence he's veri cautious....... at 11.15 pm i had lost my patience n gained high bp looking at his room...... at 11.30 pm adi leapt on to sree (adi's dad - Sreeram) when door opened n gave me a look which said : i dnt knw when wl i go to play group...... i m tired of this home.....nw m thinking teachers r grossly underpaid...... god bless them

May 27, 2011

I am starting to believe that life, somehow, tests each & every belief you have had in life about various things. For instance, if I love sweets, I happen to get so much sweets-eating-opportunities that at some point I might lose the craving for it. It is as if life looks at you & says "So dude, you love sweets huh? Lets see how much you can take it". Of course, craving for sweets is a relatively trivial issue but the same applies to every other belief, liking and disliking you have ever had.

In my case, my belief system is being constantly put to test through various situations appearing as a small little test. And I must add here, I am not faring very well here. Also, I wonder now how this new belief of mine is going to be tested!

As a student, taking up the CA course was not really a well deliberated decision for me. It would be incorrect to say that it was my dream to be a CA. In fact, far from it. The decision to take up this course was more by default than design. My elder cousin was doing this course and it was seen as a high Return on Investment course! Well, things went well and I did end up clearing the course in 2004. It has been 7 complete years (almost) since that eventful day.

The other day, in one of my many introspecting/reminiscing hours, I was wondering how life has shaped up since clearing CA. I could think of the following key learnings I have had over this period. Here they go...

1. Money is an important factor in life. To my mind, anyone who says money is not important is either lying or is ultra-rich. Financial security gives you a lot of space to do well in various aspects of life. In no way I am trying to imply that money is THE thing to chase, but having enough of it surely gives a lot of flexibility. Well, how much is enough is a totally different point altogether. Also, I feel earning a fair amount of money after being a CA has not been difficult. If you have a reasonable flair and grip on content, earning a lakh a month before you are 30 is not difficult at all.

2. Having a strong passion about something or having a genuine hobby is a very useful thing in keeping you happy in life. During phases when people and circumstances around you are being discomforting, your passion/hobby can see you through peacefully. It could be a sport, a game, an activity, travel, watching movies, reading books, music, anything. Anything that keeps your mind occupied and not idle.

3. Talking of mind, it is the most important part of our system I guess. Have a control on your mind, things are smooth. If not, it's havoc. Simple yet very difficult!

4. I have also learnt that our views and perceptions about things and people change over a period of time. What I believed 5 years back may not necessarily be my belief now. Things change. Change is the only constant. I know I know, it has been said a million times before.

5. We have a lot more time than what we think we have in life. There is enough time to live your life the way you want (assuming you know what you want!). We can afford to slow down, get off the rat race and relax sometimes. The important things will wait and the things that cannot wait may not be really important.

6. Love is an under-estimated concept. Even after thousand of movies and millions of exposures on it, it is still worth the time and efforts.

7. And finally, never say NEVER. I know I just did, but still!

These are my seven bits of wisdom for myself and for other takers. As always, for whatever it is worth :)

P.S. The final half bit of the learnings is that I am still so much a work in progress. Though I do not know how the finished product is supposed to be like, I am still closer to the start than finish.

May 18, 2011

Nothing remarkable to write about, but I felt I owe it to the blog to mention here that the blog completed 4 years yesterday. Been 'dead' for almost a year now though, there is always hope for an eventful tomorrow. These days, I am more a 'visitor' on my own blog, coming here to read some thoughtful long comments by readers :) Keep them coming.

April 26, 2011

Whilst I cannot change the past, starting today I can try and avoid the stupidities I did till yesterday or I can continue to screw up things. The choice is entirely mine and the choice is available to be exercised.

February 1, 2011

Most times in life, the simple things are the most pleasant ones. In our strive towards the big, rocking, earth-shattering events, we end up missing the tiny little precious matters. Ironically, today I happened to experience a similar high.

When was the last time you did something special for your loved one? When was the last time you surprised him/her with a gift? When was the last time you acknowledged their presence in your life? If you have LOVE around you, cherish it, nurture it, protect it. Not many are loved deeply. Not many can love too. Feel blessed if you are one. That is the GOD in our lives.

January 27, 2011

Our priorities in life about people & things change dynamically over a period of time. I guess that's normal. I am not what I was two years back. I experienced some serious change of priorities in my life over the last year or so. That in itself is fair. What I must add is, the people or things that goes off your priority list should not be too off, if I could put it that way. The imbalance, so created, can be disturbing sometimes.

When I was a kid, I would think I could touch the moon someday. The belief was at the peak especially those days when the moon appeared bigger than normal, so it was like 'wow, it's coming closer'. As I grew older, my fetish for touching the moon evaporated.

What I did not realize is that am still the same little kid in many ways. Just that the moon has been replaced by many other things.

It seems like a lifetime since I have posted last. Time, as they say, is an illusion. So, though the months of blogging-gap seems few, it seems like eternity since I was here the last time. As always, I resume blogging - hoping this time it will stay!

Life has been what it is always, life. Unsteady, surprising, shocking, happy, unhappy, volatile.. all these in regular phases. I have been trying to be myself through all this, but could not always. May be it is being too harsh to expect myself to be so consistently.

In a way, I am searching for myself these days. Somehow I feel I have lost myself, if that is indeed possible. Or possibly, this new me is the actual me. How am I to know since I'm living life for the first time :)

What do I want to write about now? I am not sure yet. Too many random thoughts floating around inside my muddled, cluttered mind. But will let myself go now and write with the flow. Me wants to see where it goes!

I do want to mention something here. I am pleasantly surprised to know that there are many in this world who has been waiting to see my blog active again. Not getting into self-praise. Just feeling a little humbled that few has been 'missing' my blog. Thanks to all such super-fellows :)